Rehydrating Tobacco

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

Watch for Updates Twice a Week

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,621
44,831
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
What are your opinions on rehydrating tobacco? Is it necessary? If so, when should one rehydrate and how? How often?
Rehydrating tobacco is necessary when it has lost all moisture and crumbles into dust when touched. Most tobacco is tinned with excess moisture, so it's more a matter of drying it down to a proper smoking level of moisture.

On those occasions that I rehydrate tobacco I do the following:

Place the tobacco in a bowl or pan large enough to spread out the tobacco. I prefer Pyrex.
Take some paper toweling, enough to drape over the top of the dish when folded once over itself.
Wet the paper towel with distilled water and drape over the rim of the bowl.

Leave it alone for a few hours and check the tobacco, mixing it up while you're at it. If the tobacco feels dry in patches, re-dampen the toweling and give it another few hours and check it again.

Jar the tobacco and give it a week for the moisture to evenly distribute through the leaf.

Not all blends resuscitate well. I've had success with English blends, but a blend like Haddo's Delight is a goner.

Good luck.
 

STP

Lifer
Sep 8, 2020
4,104
9,546
Northeast USA
^^^ What stablebrush52 said. I store most of my tobacco in jars. If necessary, I will wet a paper towel (usually w/distilled water) and placed it over the opening, and then close the lid. Depending on the amount and dryness, it usually takes a few hours to rehydrate. Some will use a slice of apple, or some other fruit, but I have no experience with this technique. You can also use the below for smaller amounts...
D5991361-D449-48A4-B60E-C2CCF18AA3F0.png
 

rajangan

Part of the Furniture Now
Feb 14, 2018
974
2,809
Edmonton, AB
Shredded tobacco - I weigh the tobacco and add an amount of water equal to 10 to 14% of that weight. Close the lid or bag, give it a shake, leave it in a warm place for a short while.

(I add water to tobacco which is crumble dry. The amount of water depends on whether there is PG or glycerin in it. 10% if humectants. 12-15% if not.)

Whole leaf - same, just by spraying. Tip: weigh the bottle, not the tobacco.

Rope and plug. Freeze the rope or plug, Add an appropriate weight of ice. Vacuum seal it. Let it melt in a warm place and let sit for a day or three. This helps to reduce swelling of the plug.
 

eljimmy

Lifer
Jan 3, 2021
1,304
5,648
Los Angeles, California
Rehydrating tobacco is necessary when it has lost all moisture and crumbles into dust when touched. Most tobacco is tinned with excess moisture, so it's more a matter of drying it down to a proper smoking level of moisture.

On those occasions that I rehydrate tobacco I do the following:

Place the tobacco in a bowl or pan large enough to spread out the tobacco. I prefer Pyrex.
Take some paper toweling, enough to drape over the top of the dish when folded once over itself.
Wet the paper towel with distilled water and drape over the rim of the bowl.

Leave it alone for a few hours and check the tobacco, mixing it up while you're at it. If the tobacco feels dry in patches, re-dampen the toweling and give it another few hours and check it again.

Jar the tobacco and give it a week for the moisture to evenly distribute through the leaf.

Not all blends resuscitate well. I've had success with English blends, but a blend like Haddo's Delight is a goner.

Good luck.
This works well. I had to revive a tin of some double pressed Latakia and I did exactly this.
 

NightShayde

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 19, 2021
139
406
Georgia
flatline2beatline.com
Rehydrating tobacco is necessary when it has lost all moisture and crumbles into dust when touched. Most tobacco is tinned with excess moisture, so it's more a matter of drying it down to a proper smoking level of moisture.

On those occasions that I rehydrate tobacco I do the following:

Place the tobacco in a bowl or pan large enough to spread out the tobacco. I prefer Pyrex.
Take some paper toweling, enough to drape over the top of the dish when folded once over itself.
Wet the paper towel with distilled water and drape over the rim of the bowl.

Leave it alone for a few hours and check the tobacco, mixing it up while you're at it. If the tobacco feels dry in patches, re-dampen the toweling and give it another few hours and check it again.

Jar the tobacco and give it a week for the moisture to evenly distribute through the leaf.

Not all blends resuscitate well. I've had success with English blends, but a blend like Haddo's Delight is a goner.

Good luck.
Awesome. Thank you so much. I actually prefer wet and sticky over desert dry tobacco.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kcghost

FurCoat

Lifer
Sep 21, 2020
8,764
78,501
North Carolina
I tape a cotton ball to the bottom of a mason jar lid then use a medicine dropper to wet, not soak, the cotton ball with distilled water. Check on the tobacco about every other day and remoisten the cotton as needed and stir the tobacco to get even hydration.
 

KafkaStoleMyBike

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 10, 2020
197
839
Dallas, TX
For small amounts (1-2oz), the terra cotta humidifier stones work well enough. They’re also sold as ’brown sugar savers’ on some sites, but RAW sells some marketed toward cigarette tobacco. They’re cheap and easy to use for a single, dried up tin.